NewsOne Minute: Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip, Waffle House Makes Her Give It Back

Shaina Brown works the late shift at Waffle House, serving cups of second-wind coffee to wobbly diners with butane breath. After seven years, she’s learned to coax a good tip with a smile and quick refill. Even the barroom crowd will throw her $5 extra. But nothing short of greasy spoon magic can explain what happened at 3 a.m. on Mother’s Day, when a patron eating a Texas bacon patty melt called Brown over and said, “I’m going to bless you tonight.”

He paid his bill with a credit card and wrote $1,500 on the tip line, asking Brown to share $500 with a haggard-looking woman at a table nearby. Then he vanished into a cab, telling Brown, “You have a good spirit.” If this were a fairy tale, Brown would have taken that money home and spent it on her three kids. She might have fixed the broken transmission on her car. A thousand dollars presents endless opportunities to a single mother working two jobs. But this is Waffle House, where magic gets poured out like cold coffee. They wouldn’t let her keep the money. They sent it back to the angel with the late-night appetite. Read more.

Schools Were Getting Much Safer Until 2010, Government Report Says

American public and private schools are generally much safer than they were 10 years ago, but school crime began a slight climb in 2010, according to a government report released Tuesday. The rate of non-fatal incidents in which students felt victimized at school decreased to 35 per 1,000 students in 2010, from 181 per 1,000 students in 1992, according to the 2013 School Crime and Safety Report. The rate rose to 52 per 1,000 students in 2012, the report found. Any type of school crime, the report noted, increases the likelihood of dropouts, teacher turnover and student transfers. Read more.

Elizabeth Arden has selected Nigerian model Adeola Ariyo as its first African brand ambassador. Ariyo will appear in ads for Visible Difference, Skin Illuminating and the company’s foundation brands across the African continent. “Adeola is well travelled and truly committed to young women on the African continent. She is sincere and authentic, and what shines through is that she is here to represent African women and educate us about beauty and what beauty means today,” remarked Elle editor Jackie Burger. Read more.

Michael Jordan Surprises Elementary Kids, Kids Lose Their Minds

A legend and Charlotte Hornets chairman and owner Michael Jordan surprised students at a Charlotte elementary school, Monday. As the class of young kids smiled for a class photo, they all said, “Let’s go Hornets!” Then ‘His Airness’ walked in. Watch.

GOP Struggles To Recruit Black Voters, Candidates

Like an eager date, Leo Smith showed up at Mount Zion First Baptist Church with a bouquet of flowers in hand. He wasn’t seeking romance. He was seeking voters. As the minority engagement director for the Georgia Republican Party, Smith is helping to lead an effort to recruit African-American voters in pivotal states, a priority for a heavily white party staring with uncertainty at a country that is fast becoming more brown. Smith and other black Republicans who are recruiting voters say there are plenty of black conservatives out there. They just don’t want to be identified publicly as conservative or Republican. “We’re missing some people because they’re whispering, and to have people speak out loud is what we intend to do,” Smith said. Read more.